With so many packages available, it can be hard to find the exact thing you need using command-line APT. The general search tool is called apt-cache and is used like this: djx@ubuntu:~$ apt-cache search kde Depending on which repositories you have enabled, that tool returns about a thousand packages. Many of those results will not even have KDE in the package...

The Add/Remove Applications dialog works just fine for adding applications, but if you need to install something very specific—such as a library—or if you want to reconfigure your installation system, you need to use Synaptic. You can install Synaptic using the Ubuntu Software Center described earlier; it is not installed by default. At first glance, Synaptic...

Linux has inherited from UNIX a well-planned hierarchy for organizing where things may be found. It isn’t perfect, but it is generally logical and mostly consistent, although distributions do tend to make some modifications that force some thinking and adaptation when moving between, say, Fedora, Slackware, and Ubuntu. The following table shows some of the...

Ubuntu Restricted Extras is probably the first package you should install in Ubuntu. You will soon notice that a lot of things do not work after your first run. You cannot listen to MP3 files or watch many movies; even DVDs. Browsing the web means doing so without Flash and Java, and certain websites don’t look right because the fonts are different. That’s...

Understanding the Ubuntu desktop Initially, you may notice many similarities between Ubuntu and other operating systems such as Microsoft Windows or Mac os x. This is because they are all based on the concept of a graphical user interfaceGUI, meaning that you use your mouse to navigate the desktop, open applications, move files, and perform most other tasks. In...

We recommend 3 simple partitions to setup when installing Ubuntu for the first time Swap Partition Root Partition Home Partition home partition where data for each user on the system will be stored. The Swap Partition The swap partition is used for times when there is not enough memory for running processes, so stored information from RAM is send to the hard...